SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. - A Summerside man was killed while crossing Water Street Friday morning.
The victim, who died at the scene, has been identified as 69-year-old Angus MacDonald.
Summerside Police Services received a 911 call around 6:20 a.m. of a pedestrian-vehicle collision in front of the Irving gas station.
City police and an RCMP collision analyst began an investigation at the scene. It appears MacDonald was trying to cross from the Tim Hortons parking lot to the Irving.
A half-ton truck was at the site of the accident. Police said alcohol and drugs were not a factor.
The accident occurred on a busy stretch of road, where bystanders could name several others who had been struck in the same area.
“They do go way too fast here,” said Darren Evans, who was stopping in for a coffee while officers worked on the street in front of the restaurant.
Evans would like to see more police presence in the city.
Someone standing outside the gas station said it’s one of the worst spots in Summerside to cross the road.
MacDonald was a regular at the coffee shop. He and his brother were often spotted around town, sitting and chatting. They were “early birds,” said one bystander.
“A lot of people think it’s so short just to walk across there,” he said, meaning the two lanes between the Tim’s parking lot and the sidewalk in front of the Irving.
Water Street is one of the main entrances to Summerside, so in addition to workday traffic, the corner of Water and Autumn streets handles traffic travelling to the Holland College campus, Tim Horton’s drive through and the gas station.
There is a lighted crosswalk joining the corner of Autumn Street to the Holland College entrance but, because the traffic stopped for pedestrians is often mistaken for people waiting in the Tim Horton’s drive through, it is common for cars to pass on the right, making even the crosswalk unsafe.
Joey Blacquiere was struck by a vehicle several years ago while using that crosswalk. He looked both ways, but it was a car turning out of the gas station that hit him.
Not long after, he had a near miss crossing at the lights just a few hundred metres away.
“Every time I come to an intersection, my stomach starts to turn,” said Blacquiere.
Water Street was closed to vehicles from Noonan Street to Autumn Street until around 10:30 a.m. on Friday.
Police have received information that at least two vehicles drove through the scene of the accident when it occurred and are asking anyone who was in the area at the time of the incident to contact them at 902-432-1201.
